Negativity Drives Online News Consumption

A recent Nature study found that negative words in headlines increase click-through rate, and vice versa with positive words.

(Full Study)

The negativity bias is a foundational cognitive bias in human and animal psychology. Evolutionary psychology suggests that complex organisms have evolved to pay more attention to potential threats and negative stimuli because it is advantageous for survival. Our ancestors who were more attuned to danger were more likely to survive and pass on their genes to the next generation, which over time created this adaptation.

"It is better to assume a stick is a snake, than a snake is just a stick".
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